By Farah G. Decano

 

DON’T you think it is presumptuous to call oneself a kingmaker when he or she has produced only one top honcho who actually was not a nobody to start with?

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was not a nobody in 2010, 2016 or 2022, when he ran for the senate, the vice presidency, and the presidency, respectively. His father’s reign for twenty years has cultivated him a good following and a name recall.  In addition, two powerful politicians supported the younger Marcos’s candidacy – Vice President Sara Duterte and former President Gloria Arroyo. When President Marcos Jr. clinched the top leadership post per COMELEC results, his proclaimed victory could not be credited to only one person.

As if humoring the Filipino readers, former Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez has released his tell-all book about his short stay in Malacanang and called it “Kingmaker,” with his face splashed on the entire cover.  The title left some Filipino readers cringey because it smacks of self-aggrandizement and was a miscalculated estimation of himself.  Whosoever advised Atty. Rodriguez to give his literary piece such a title did a disservice to the gentle lawyer who is known for his calm and humble demeanor even when under pressure. During the open forum of the book launch a few days ago, former ES Rodriguez denied regarding himself as such. He said that the Filipinos should read the book so that they’d know why it was so titled.

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Having been eased out of Malacanang, former ES Rodriguez was expected to divulge the power struggles in the palace. The public suspects that the First Lady had a hand in his termination. The former ES, however, described the book as a narration of how much money was spent to purchase buyable media and vloggers to destroy him. 

 During the same book launch, the ex-Secretary spoke kindly of his former client.  He also recalled that he was with Marcos Jr. during the dark days and never left him alone when people considered him as a political goner which situation changed when Marcos Jr. won the presidential election.  A sneak peek into the book also mentioned how the First Lady meddled in official affairs.  

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Thou shalt not scorn any First Lady, whether she earned that title by marriage or by self-designation. Reality is that there are those who behave like the FL and act like one because of their inexplicable closeness to the chief executive.

I am reminded of the heartache of one lawyer who was on the same boat as ES Rodriguez. Like the latter, the former attorney had a long history of good relations with the client only to be floated and sacked due to the influence of his self-designated “First Lady”.  Unlike ES Rodriguez whose probable cause for termination was an alleged power struggle with the FL, the second lawyer was so terminated because of difference in values in the handling of finances. Marcos most certainly would know what the FL did if she, indeed, terminated Rodriguez.  The other chief executive lost sight of his vision of a clean government and was happy to fire the lawyer because of the self-designated FL’s promise of return on investment.

I believe that Atty. Victor Rodriguez is a big loss to the Marcoses.  If I were in the former’s shoes, I will not show any bitterness. I will not attend any anti-Marcos rally to denounce the administration of the person he helped. This behaviour lacks class. If he were a kingmaker that his book claims him to be, he should just remain cool while waiting to find another potential king.  I guess he was not a kingmaker after all but just one lucky campaign manager.

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